Twenty
years ago, a bottle of red wine was my first ever contact with
anything from Chile. It was actually my first ever bottle of red
wine. Not that I am an expert on wines. But Chile really have some
inexpensive excellent red wines. Why do I talk red wine when I should
talk progressive rock? Although I am stone cold sober, it is this
association I got when I was listening to the third album Creciendo
by Jaime Rosas Cuarteto. An album which in texture can be compared
with a deep red Chilean wine.

Jaime
Rosas Cuarteto's excellent live album Viajero Astral - Live in Brazil
was a real eye-opener and put this band on my list of bands I and the
rest of us should check out. As I wrote in my review, Jaime Rosas
Cuarteto is a seriously talented band and one of the better symphonic
prog rock bands on this planet. The two studio albums I also bought
confirmed my suspicions. I also found Jamie's website and decided to
investigate this band further.

This
interview is a mix of a presentation of Jaime Rosas past, the Jaime
Rosas Cuarteto albums, the present and the future. So without any
further time wasting, I give you Jaime Rosas.

Besides
of having to endure my more or less insane ramblings, what are you up
to these days?

Composing,
recording and mixing mainly. There are two contributions for the
Finnish
Progressive Music Association and Musea Records: one is Cani
Arrabbiati,
based on Italian movie themes, which I just finished; and the other
is a song for Paradiso,
the third part of The Divine Comedy, based on Dante´s work. I am
also mixing and recording some final tracks for Flashback,
my new solo album. Besides that, I have been enjoying a very good
summer and have recently updated my home studio.

Over
to that past and “this is your life” bit of the interview. How
was your formative years? Were you self taught or did you get any
formal musical education?

The
first time music was made conscious, or revealed before me in a
certain way, was when John Lennon died. During that December, The
Beatles and Lennon sounded in every radio near me. So I guess that
was my call, literally. My dad bought a big, very uncool organ and I
began to play by myself, first by ear, and then I took some classes.
My repertoire: mostly The Beatles, but within a couple of years I had
discovered ELP, Yes, Deep Purple and Genesis. Abbey Road’s “B
side” had a lot to do with that openness which let me discover
other music styles. I have formal music composition studies, although
I am very much self made as a keyboardist. After high school, I had
the chance to study Music Composition in an old fashion
master-disciple way. My composition master, Roberto Escobar, is a
classical musician, a very prolific composer and a very respected
philosopher. By the time we worked together he was in his mid
sixties, so there was a lot for him to teach me, no only in music,
but in life as well. With him I studied music theory, harmony,
counterpoint, orchestration, analysis, etc. He was very open minded
about the kind of music I wanted to compose, he comes from the atonal
trend in music, but, apart from looking at me in a suspicious way
when he heard my tonal compositions, everything went smoothly.

Which
keyboardists / musicians have inspired you most?

Beside
The Beatles, the first group of musicians have to be the ones from
the classical world, mainly Beethoven and Stravinsky. These artists
have been so important, that music changed forever, for good. In a
way, they belong to a very unique group of people (along with Newton,
Einstein, Freud, Jung, Leonardo DaVinci, to name a few) who have
transformed their own disciplines helping to the growth of human
kind. Next, there’s a group of keyboardists, who definitely have
influenced me in composition and performing: Keith Emerson, Rick
Wakeman, Jon Lord and Tony Banks. I mean, you can be both, a rock
star and a “classical composer”, talking about balance in life.
From this side of the world there are remarkable bands who definitely
have influenced me a lot: Congreso and Los Jaivas, from Chile; and
Seru Giran, from Argentina. Finally, there is a group of musicians
that don’t come from an obvious influence area of a prog musician,
but they have been so important in my development and motivation as
an artist: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Electric Light
Orchestra, Bon Jovi (I know I just lost some potential fans here),
Frank Sinatra, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Jean Luc Ponty, John
Williams, Danny Elfman, Journey, Queen, Triumph and Vangelis.
Nowadays I like Dream Theater very much.

Jaime
Rosas Cuarteto has it's roots in another prog rock band from Chile
called Entrance. You were still a member there when you released your
first solo album. Please tell us more about Entrance and the three
studio albums and the live album you recorded with them.

Entrance
was formed in 1997, we were just a group of musician friends who
wanted to make “music with the spirit of the seventies, with a
contemporary attitude”. Meaning: compose, record and perform,
thinking about music first, and not about being popular, having a hit
song or being famous (although it is always welcomed). The real
strange thing is that I have travelled, have met so many people, I
have been interviewed a lot, that many times I have actually felt
like a mainstream musician. We released our first record (Entrance)
in
1999. In 2000 the drummer left for personal reasons, and singer and
bassist also left to pursue a career in popular music. In 2002 we
released En
la Tierra
(On the Earth) with a new, and now, classic lineup. The Mexican tour
was recorded in 2003 and release in 2006 as Odisea
(Odyssey: Live in Mexico). Finally, in 2008, we released our third
studio album Entre
Dos Mundos (Between
Two Worlds).

What
is it's future plans for Entrance?

Honestly,
I just want to make music, compose, record and tour. It is sometimes
hard to coordinate this with other musicians who have, as myself, day
jobs. So that has been an important reason why sometimes I record
with Entrance and sometimes as a solo artist. The only short term
plan with Entrance is the recording of a song for Paradiso,
the third part of The Divine Comedy, the project sponsored by Finnish
Progressive Music Association and Musea Records. Of course that can
change in the near future, and it would be nice, since I love the
band and we have lived so many wonderful times together.

How
is the music scene in Chile and South America these days?

Very
healthy, more underground that it should be and full of talented
musicians. From a very personal point of view there are very good
performers, but talented composers are rare, progressive music should
not rely on endless repetition of simples structures, it should be
based in the search for structures and harmonic and melodic
progressions (hence the name?). Author Edward Macan, defines
Progressive Rock in his book Endless
Enigma
as a philosophy that is founded in five basic premises: idealism,
authenticity, transcendence, the artist and progress. For a full
definition, see my blog
(http://www.jaimerosas.com/Blog/Entries/2007/2/1_February_2007.html)
I agree with him and this means that is not enough to be a good
performer. Back to the question (sorry), the last world economic
crisis generated many problems for a lot of Prog festivals. So that
part of the music scene has been living a real bad cycle, hopefully,
we will return to normal. Labels, on the other hand, are betting
almost everything on the internet, which is a risky move. Let’s
see what happens.

Over
to Jaime Rosas Cuarteto. Please give us a presentation of Virgo. The
music, the recording, lyrics, the musicians, the artwork, the tracks.

Virgo
(2002) is my first solo album, it has, in my opinion, the best music
I have composed, but, sadly to say, the worst sound as well. It is a
keyboard based album, all the music is instrumental, except one song.
Virgo starts with Plegaria
(Prayer), the deep, peaceful moment in which, before a difficult
journey, you connect with the gods and ask for wisdom, clarity and
success. The main composition of the CD is the Symphony, a four
movement, 33 minute opus in which I invested several months of
composing. I would love to record an acoustic version of it, you
know, besides the regular keyboards, it should have a real orchestra
behind it. I’m planning to compose another symphony and recorded it
with a real orchestra by 2013, it would be an appropriate opportunity
to re record this first Symphony. A trade mark of this and other
albums are the Brief Rock Pieces, which stands for 2-3 minute
instrumental rock music. In Virgo, I recorded numbers 1 to 5. They
have proven to be real good in live concerts after playing 20 minute
compositions, the audience tends to rest and just let their rock n’
roll spirits out. Lluvia
(Rain) is the only song of the album, vocals are sung by Jaime
Scalpello, Entrance’s singer. At the time of the recording I didn’t
have much money so I was invited to use a studio in their non working
hours, it could be 40 minutes in the morning, 1 hour at the evening,
or the whole night. I remember several days in which I didn’t sleep
at all during that time, good times I must say.

Please
give us a presentation of Extremos. The music, the recording, lyrics,
the musicians, the artwork, the tracks.

Extremos
(2004)
is my second album, now in a trio format, with my bandmates from
Entrance Rodrigo Godoy (bass, guitars and vocals) and Alex von
Chrismar (drums). We used the name “Jaime Rosas Trio” to promote
this CD and the following tour. This time we had a studio at our
disposal, but we didn’t have much time, so in an absolute career
record, we made the album (recording, mixing and even some
composition) in just three or four days. The concept of this album is
the coexistence of two opposite styles in music: the rock side and
the calmer side. In this CD I recorded another set of five Brief
Rock Pieces,
number 6 has become a real hit in concerts. Not girls-screaming-hitbut,
you know, people really enjoying and some screaming (mostly male
though). Extremos
has two piano pieces: Sonido
Vital
(Vital Sound) 1 and 2, the first one has a classical approach, and a
really cool thing happens when I played it live: people listen in a
moving, respectful silence. To a performer, that is everything.
Tiempos
de Paz (Times
of Peace), also in the calmer side, is a kind of new age keyboard
composition. Extremos
ends with Viajero
Astral
(Astral Traveller), the classic prog composition of this work. It is
the first part of a three movement mega work. The second part is El
Mito del Eterno Retorno
(The Myth of the Eternal Return) from Creciendo
(2005) and the last is Magica
(Magic) from Entrance’s Entre
Dos Mundos
(2008). As a whole, is a 45 minute composition. Viajero
Astral
tells the story of a space and time traveller. We also recorded a
version of YYZ from Rush but we couldn’t release it because
permissions didn’t arrive, you can hear it in
www.jaimerosas.com/Music.html.
This CD was mixed and produced by Rodrigo Godoy.

Please
give us a presentation of Creciendo. The music, the recording,
lyrics, the musicians, the artwork, the tracks.

Creciendo
(Growing) was released in 2005, guitarist Javier Sepulveda joined the
band, so now we are Jaime Rosas Quartet, or “Cuarteto” in
Spanish. As you may have noticed, in each CD the name of the band
changes (I know I have to look for advice in marketing and branding,
I’m working on it). This album also has a good balance between
heavy and calm moments. It has a track called Un
Volcan en las Nubes (A
Volcano in the Clouds) which I composed looking at the magnificent
Villarrica Volcano, in southern Chile. One particular day a set of
clouds have formed on it’s base so you could only see the top half
of the volcano. It is orchestrated for electric guitar and Pipe
Organ. Another favorite is La
Hermandad del Fin del Mundo
(The Brotherhood of the End of the World) scored for piano, acoustic
guitar, soft percussion and voice (without lyrics). It was first
composed for a DVD featuring landscapes of southern Chile. My
favorite track though is without a doubt El
Mito del Eterno Retorno
(The Myth of the Eternal Return), which is heavy, real heavy: heavy
lyrics, heavy composition structure, and heavy performance. The
lyrics are based in the inevitable return to itself, to the real
inner truth; and also to the return to the South side of the world
after a mystical voyage. The artwork shows a magic place where wisdom
and knowledge is an everyday goal for the people who live there,
humans and people from other planets (a theme that was fully
developed in Magica,
from Entrance’s Entre
Dos Mundos
- 2008). So you can see these ancient trees called “Araucarias”,
a hidden city, plenty of vegetation, mountains and this human figure
full of light. Southern Chile is a land that has many myths and
regular UFO sightings. Creciendo
was recorded and mixed during a three month period, since we worked
in one of the bandmates’ studio, we took all the time we needed.
Rodrigo Godoy again mixed and produced this recording.

You
are currently working on a new album, according to your Twitter feed.
What can we expect from this album?

You
know when you are reading a book, and at the end of a chapter, the
author makes a summary? Well, that is Flashback,
my new album. It has a certain look to the past, with compositions
that I have never recorded and new music that has strong connections
with my history in the form of music themes and guest musician
friends. As always, it doesn’t have an obvious stylistic unity so
you will find the classic 20 minute prog opus; a very
relaxed-jazzy-piano-guitar duet, a formal verse-chorus song, a couple
of heavy instrumental pieces and of course, Flashback:
the summary of my approach to music, in which different styles and
moods are mixed together.

I
have already touched upon your live album Viajero Astral - Live in
Brazil which I think is a real eye-opener of an album. Please tell us
more about this live album and how it was recorded.

It
was recorded during the Creciendo
Tour by Bob Nagy and mixed in Chile by Rodrigo Godoy, that
particular show was held in Rio Art Rock Festival, where we played
with Nektar. I love playing in theaters, the energy is so different,
I think the audience is more comfortable so it all comes to music and
people in a direct and honest way. Everybody should go to Brazil at
least once. In this amazing country everything is sports, music,
girls and a “don’t worry, be happy” approach to life. They can
be filled with problems, but they are always open, enjoying, healthy,
smiling. So the whole Brazilian tour was having a good time, and that
particular show just followed that trend. This was one of those shows
where after playing, you go to the lobby of the theater, and you meet
the audience, in a one-by-one basis. It doesn’t get better than
that: talking and knowing that many people, taking pictures, signing
records, and just hanging around with them. I really appreciate this
“after show”, it fills me with energy to keep composing,
recording and touring. The show itself was very enjoyable, the band
played very tight, the onstage sound was excellent and I remember we
all had a wonderful time. One good anecdote: in this festivals, it is
common that a section of the theater’s lobby is reserved to sell
records and music related items. So we all had spots: Nektar, Rock
Symphony (Brazil’s Prog Label and producers of the festival), some
other merchant and ourselves. There’s this friendly competition for
who sells the most, so every guy does his best. So we used this very
basic strategy: Barbara, our drummer's girlfriend, had joined us for
this part of the tour, and we gave her the mission to sell CD’s.
She is a blue-eyed blonde with a very direct and outgoing
personality, and, as (male) logic dictates, we sold all of our CD’s
and just crushed the competition.

I
guess you will not be mortally wounded if I say that both fans of
Dream Theater and ELP will get a lot of pleasure from both this live
album and your three studio albums. But how would you describe your
own music?

This
is a tough one, because music is, as musicologist Jaime Donoso
remarks, “a self-referenced language that doesn't need to be
translated in emotions or symbols because it has a meaning by
itself”. It is always difficult to describe music with words since
you will always fall short. One alternative is to use comparisons: my
music can be compared to prog rockers, such as ELP or Yes. It also
makes references to classic romantic nineteenth century composers
because of the search of new structures and tonality. Other
alternative is to use music concepts to make the description: I try
to keep a balance in every music element, so there’s room for
harmony, melody, rhythm, structure and orchestration. A third way to
describe my music is by the message I want to communicate:
positiveness, finding your own way, hope and friendship. Finally, it
can also be described as how it sounds: a lot of keyboards, solo
analog sounds, with peaceful, calm moments that alternate with
strength and rock n’ roll with heavy guitars and drums, and
finally, it has Spanish lyrics (though that will change in the
future).

How
is your record label situation and the distribution of your albums
both in South America and in the rest of the world? What is your
experiences with the music / record industry?

In
the politically incorrect part of the interview, I must say that in
my experience, the music industry is awful. Not only in prog or
similar styles, but as a whole. This is a bad time to be a musician
(as a business). The music industry is made of a value chain
consisting in musicians, labels, media, live show industry, music
stores and audience. The goal of labels, media, live show industry
and music stores is to bring musicians and audiences closer, but in
doing so, they should work together, in long term business relations,
knowing that they need each other to succeed. Now, this gets very
complex because of piracy, and, as revenues had fall, my perception
is that everybody is trying to win as much money as they can in a
short term basis, fearing that business will die soon, dangerously
forgetting about the importance of working together and trying to
come up with new business models. This is a time of change in the
industry, there are, and there will be many wounded. What I have
seen? Labels invest as little as they canin recordings, the
marketing is poor and the distribution is very reactive-oriented.
Music stores and labels had suffer the most since they didn’t
understand that they sell music, not CD’s (iTunes understood this
and they achieved an impressive market share in a very short time). Musicians have the illusion that they don’t need a label in order
to succeed (since the internet is free...). The live show industry
has now a tendency for tribute bands (maybe the art of composition is
somehow lost), is it difficult to compete with that. And the media, I
miss music related journalism, almost everything is mainstream, and
it’s not even about the music, it’s about sales, fame, and
sensationalism, who is dating who; but there is a part of the media,
mostly internet based, that is doing a very good job, but, even
though I’m optimistic, the long term effects are yet to be seen. I
must add that this whole situation has discouraged many talented
musicians and composers to keep going, I think it’s a mistake, but
I understand them. My own experience with labels and the music
industry as a whole has been mostly negative. Now, what will happen?
In my opinion, labels, as we know them today, will disappear; they
will turn into highly specialized marketing companies. The recording
process will be in charge of the musicians and their home studios
(more affordable each year), and distribution will be mostly through
light speed internet, so almost only marketing is left. We need
aggressive labels to do their marketing job, it doesn’t matter if
the music industry will be real or virtual, labels have an important
task to do, but they need to act now or they will be shut off by
others.

Your
Twitter feed also describe an album with Italian film music you are
currently working on. Please tell us more about this album.

It
is a project sponsored by the Finnish
Progressive Music Association and Musea Records. The CD is called
Cani Arrabbiati (Rabid Dog) which is a term used to describe Italian
essay movies of the 60's and 70's (Horror, Police, Spaghetti
Westerns, etc.).
It
features many musicians, mostly from Europe, each on of us had to
make new arrangements of Italian film music. I chose The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly,
by Ennio Morricone, which is the classic Clint Eastwood western music
theme; The
Great Duel,
by Louis Bacalov, mostly known for Tarantino’s Kill
Bill;
One
Silver Dollar,
by Gianni Ferrio, also used by Tarantino in
Inglorious Basterds;
and Tentacles, by Stelvio Cipriani. The arrangements are mostly
keyboards with some acoustic guitars and percussion.

You
are also working on a rock opera. Please tell us more about this
project.

It
is the kind of project that I would love to be remembered for.
Honestly, I think that music is a mean for something greater, an
instrument to express ideas and ideals. This rock opera stands for
everything I believe in life, it’s the story of a soldier first in
war and then back home and all the changes he goes through. The score
is composed for rock band (drums, guitar, bass and keyboards), string
orchestra, vocals and chorus. I’m taking all the time needed for
this composition, and ETA is March 2011.

I
guess music does not fill every hour of your life. What else are you
up to and how is life in Chile?

Well,
yeah, back to real life... I have a Human Resources Consulting
Company, besides musician I am a psychologist and MBA. We focus
mainly in executive coaching, leadership and teamwork. I do not
complain, I have never complained, this other side of me allows me to
make the music I have always wanted, helps to pay the bills, and
gives me peace of mind to think big in music. I would love to be a
full time musician, that’s for sure, but in this time of history,
the kind of music I compose is not commercial, so I have taken
another road. Some fellow musicians have migrated to pop music,
others have entered the advertising music business, others can’t
pay the bills. My choice has been the development of other area of
interest. I release one album a year and have played and keep playing
in many different places, so it has worked for me. I know this is a
common issue for non commercial artists, everywhere in the world, but
it’s ok, our adaptation skills are tested everyday.

Life
in Chile is wonderful, I live in Santiago, where the climate is
awesome, like in LA. The sea is 90 minutes to the West, by car; and
the mountains (and snow) are also 90 minutes away to the East. Chile
has a remarkable stable environment in both economics and politics,
so it is rather different from the others countries of the region. My
country has 16 million people, it is an open economy and it’s main
exportations are copper, cellulose, wines, salmon and fruits.
Landscapes vary a lot, starting from the driest desert in the world
in the far north, to the glacier zone in the far south. There are
wonderful beaches, lakes, mountains and forests. It is a wonderful
place to live. Soccer is the most popular game and we have always
have good tennis players too.

Anything
you want to add to this interview?

Just
like to say thank you for the interview, I had a great time answering
it and recalling many anecdotes of recording and touring. I try to
follow my own path in an honest way, and in doing that, I have known
different people, cultures and countries, so it all makes perfect
sense. I’m really grateful with life. Thank you.

A big thank you to Jaime Rosas for the insight into his very interesting band and albums. The PA profile is here and his homepage is here

Check out Jaime Rosas Cuarteto because they really deserve more recognition. Nuff said !

Excellent interview, honestly I have never listened to Jaime Rosas Cuarteto, but i saw him at the BajaProg 2008 with Entrance, nice music, cannot tell that I really loved it, but maybe did not put the deserved attention.

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